Hanging By A Thread
by Irisukazelf
Summary: When the two fighting types are sent to find and bring back an important artifact they encounter unsuspected trouble. In her desperate quest to protect the artifact, Mienshao is wounded and finds herself hanging by a thread… Male Lucario X Female Mienshao


Hanging By A Thread...

_**Prologue**_

"So you`re telling me this little object might be our key to finding the legendaries?" Emily questioned as Lynn showed her a picture of the aforementioned artifact.

"This is the Light Stone, an ancient artifact in which Reshiram is said to have been sealed once. But since Reshiram was released from it, the stone became an ability-enhancing item, like the Lustrous Orb is for Palkia or the Adamant Orb for Dialga, for example. This is what I found out from my research." Lynn continued.

"I see…So we just need to get our hands on it. But the question is how." Emily questioned, pressing one of her fingers on her lower lip.

"Don`t worry. I`ve been able to pinpoint its location." Lynn immediately responded. "Do you remember Nacrene Museum?"

"Of course I do. It was there I beat that normal-type using museum curator and her annoying Patrat for my second badge. What about it?" Emily recalled.

"Yes I do remember the Gym Leader, Aloe. It turned out that the Light Stone is one of the objects on display in her museum."

"I get it. So all we have to do is steal it. Piece of cake!" Emily bragged.

" Yep!" Lynn approved. "But there is a problem with this 'we'. I can`t come with you since I want to teach Draco Meteor to one of my precious Pokémon and Ellie is determined to participate in and win one of the local musicals." Lynn continued, rubbing the back of her head.

"So it is only Logan and me, huh. Don`t worry, we`ll manage. And good luck with Draco Meteor!"

"Me? Altaria is the one you should think about not me! She`s going to have a hard time grabbing that damn dragon`s attention."

"I don`t envy her right now." Emily joked. She then turned around and yelled: "Logan! Come on! We have to go now!" she called to her partner, who was still busy reading about his newly captured Pokémon.

"I`m right here! He responded, dropping the book he had been holding the entire time. "Let`s go!" He continued, picking up his bag and throwing it over his back.

"Good luck!" Lynn wished to her comrades, waving her arms. And with this the two Pokémon trainers departed on their newest mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emily and Logan stood in front of the famous museum. Using Emily`s magnezone, they were both lifted on the glass rooftop, through which they could see the display cases. With Thunder`s X-ray vision scanning the museum for guards, Emily releases Venom and orders her to use Toxic. The attack hits its mark, melting a hole in the glass, large enough for a person to pass through it. Then, it was Missy`s turn. She used her Pshyhic and levitated the stone away from the security on its display case and into the waiting hands of her trainer.

"Told you! Piece of cake!" Emily bragged, holding the stone in her hands.

"Easier then I would have ever dreamt!" Logan added. "Now, let`s return and see what info on Reshiram we can discover by using this." He said, pointing to the Light Stone.

"And get some sleep!" Emily complained, rubbing her left eye.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remind me one thing Logan" Emily`s voice tore through the silence of the forest. "How the heck did we get lost this time! I didn`t even get my beauty sleep because of the stupid mission!" Emily complained.

"Not my fault I couldn`t find that damn map! It`s probably exhaustion!" Logan said, rubbing the sweat off his forehead. "Why don`t we stop and rest for a while? That tree over there is just perfect." Logan suggested, pointing at a particularly large oak tree, which`s branches provided much needed shade.

"Finally a good idea for today!" Emily whined. "My brain is about to shut down from lack of sleep! She continued, pulling some blankets from her bag and throwing them on the ground.

"Wait!" Logan said. "Before we go to sleep, shouldn`t we release our Pokémon so they could guard the artifact while we take a nap?" He suggested.

"Good idea!" Emily replied before releasing Luke while Logan did the same with Sheila. She handed the artifact to her trusted partner before letting her body slide along the bark of the tree and crash onto the blanket.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**Meanwhile, in some bushes nearby…**_

"Leader!"One voice spoke up. "When will we attack?"It questioned.

"Patience!"The said leader angrily replied, petting the purrloin he owned. "Wait for the window of opportunity. This is the difference between success and failure!" He added, gabbing one of his pokéballs. "And, when this opportunity shows itself, we`ll ambush them from the shadows!"

"I understand Sir!" The grunt said, saluting his superior before retreating into the shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"_Mien-Mien…_" Luke called to his partner as they reached the top of the hill they have been climbing.

"_Stop calling me like that!_" The female mienshao said, shoving one of her 'sleeves' in Luke`s face. "_One 'mien' is enough but I still prefer my real name. It`s __**Sheila**__! Understood?_" Luke nodded slightly. "_Mention that stupid nickname one more time and I swear I'm not gonna hold back! You`ll feel the raw power of my whips!_" she continued, gesticulating with her 'sleeves'.

"_You and your threats_." Luke laughed, pushing Sheila`s paw away from him. He then looked down, at his trainers before continuing. "_And keep it down, will you? If you don`t want to wake them up, of course_."

"_Smarty pants!_" She replied, putting her paws on her hips. "_Anyway, why did you drag me all the way up to here? Why do I have the felling I won`t like what`s coming next?_"

"_Chill!_" Luke replied. "_I just wanted you to try this_." He continued, showing Sheila a collar-like object, which he somehow managed to keep hidden.

"_What the heck is this?_"She said, cautiously taking the said collar.

"_Mewtwo`s newest invention. I swear that genetic feline is a genius!" _

_"And what it is supposed to do?_" Sheila questioned. "_Dunno! Anyway, Mewtwo guarantied it has been tested and that is ready for use." _

_"I don`t trust him nor you!_" Sheila narrowed her eyes.

"_I foresaw this_." Luke calmly said, producing yet another collar. "_I`ll try one as well if you put yours. I insist!_"

"_You can`t force me!_" Sheila gasped.

"_Look, the little torchic is scared!_" Luke countered, gesticulating with his arms as if they were wings.

"_I`m no scared torchic!_"

"_Then prove it! Put it on._" Luke pointed at the collar.

"_Okay! Be it your way_." Sheila gave in, fastening her collar.

As soon as she did this her body began to glow white. Sheila gasped as she could feel her body painlessly shift and change, in a manner strikingly similar to evolution. She gained height as her legs got slender and longer. Her muzzle, together with her pointy ears and whiskers, retreated in her head. The fur on her body progressively disappeared, being replaced by clothes. In the matter of seconds, Sheila transformed from a mienshao to a_ human!_ She then decided to open her eyes, which she had kept closed the entire time, and, to her sheer surprise, in front of her wasn`t a lucario, but a human dressed as one. He grinned from ear to ear before responding:

"_So… what do you think?..."_

_ "LUKE! Why you little! What is the meaning of this?"_ Sheila yelled, attacking Luke with her sleeves, only to find out that they aren`t as efficient as before.

"_Relax!_" He replied, dodging Sheila`s incoming attacks. "_It`s just a mere illusion, it`s not real, you know." _

_"But it felt so real! How?_" The mienshao questioned, halting her assault for a second.

"_It`s a side-effect. Your mind is being mislead, made to believe in a transformation that isn`t real. What, never heard of mind over matter_." Luke teased, only to be interrupted by Sheila tackling him to the ground.

"_You could`ve warned me at least!_" She spat.

"_Hey, look at the bright side! We can now infiltrate any human settlement we wish to. Besides, it would fun to see how life as a human is!_" Luke supported his point.

"_Bastard!_" Sheila hissed through her teeth, getting up.

"_Face it…_" Luke said, making Sheila turn to face him. "_If I had warned you, you wouldn`t have accepted, would you?"_

The martial arts Pokémon sighed, admitting defeat.

"_I win!_" Luke exclaimed, earning himself a death glare from Sheila.

But just then, thick, black mist covered the area, suffocating the two fighting types.

"What`s this?" Emily`s shriek could be heard.

"_What`s happening?"_ Sheila inquired. "_What have they done to our trainers?"_

The mist soon lifted, revealing a group of trainers, dressed in knight-like costumes, each commanding a swadloon. Without warning, the swadloon shot silk threads from their bodies, threads that enveloped Luke and Sheila in silk cocoons. A purrloin sprung forward, dragging the lag Luke had been carrying towards one trainer, that seemed to be the leader. He laughed as he rummaged through the bag, eventually pulling out the Light Stone.

"The Light Stone…" he said, caressing the surface of the orb. "The power of a legend is finally mine!"

"_Who the heck are you?_" Luke telepathically asked.

"We are Team Plasma. And our goal is the liberation of Pokémon!" The leader proudly affirmed, pointing at the emblem on his costume.

"_Liberation of Pokémon? Ha, just another lame excuse to use the power of legendaries for yourself! You aren`t the first ones to try this, you know?"_ Luke countered, trying to gain some more time to devise a strategy.

Then it clicked to him, his spikes! Despite his human appearance he still possessed his razor-sharp spikes with which he could cut the cocoon apart. Using the conversation as a distraction, he began to cot apart Sheila`s bindings.

"Foolish! You do not understand us! Your prejudices prevent you from doing so!"

_"Crazy human, crazy concept!"_ Luke told himself as he could feel the strings around Sheila`s arms lose their strength. "_Let`s see who`s foolish now, shall we!"_ Luke smirked as Sheila was finally released.

As soon as she felt her bonds give way, Sheila jumped high up in the air and landed in front of the dumbstruck leader. With her naturally fast hand movements she snatched the Light Stone back, before putting some distance in between her and the plasma leader. He yelled his anger before throwing one of his Pokéballs at Sheila. It opened revealing a creature with steel blades sticking out of its body, a bisharp.

"_Sheila, RUN!_" Luke yelled at the mienshao but, before she could even, move a muscle, the bisharp lunged at her, it`s sharp blades cutting a deep gash in the ride side of her abdomen.

The female mienshao yelled in pain before she lost her footing on the slippery grass, resulting in her tumbling down the hillside. And she rolled and rolled until she landed in a fountain. She was about to lose consciousness, water threatening to fill her lungs, when her body was beginning to lift towards the surface of the water. She could feel something touching her and voices…distant and unclear…She opened her eyes once, to see the bright green eyes of somebody else, before she faded into unconsciousness…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Voices calling for her again, bright lights…Sheila could make no sense out of this…oh, her head really hurt now! She could feel sensations coming back to her body…pain, loads of pain and overwhelming exhaustion. The disguised mienshao groaned before opening her eyes…to find the same green eyes from before staring back at her. Slowly but surely, she began to make out a figure… the figure of a green haired human, a wide smile appearing on his face as he noticed his patient was awake.

"I`m glad you finally decided to wake up." He jokingly said as he the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You okay?" Sheila tried to speak but discovered that, despite her human-like appearance, she was unable to speak the human language…all that came out from her throat were growls. She had no way of communicating with her savior. The green-eyed boy was getting more and more confused as seconds passed, seeing the girl`s unusual gestures as well as her lack of speech. And then it occurred to him…

"You can`t talk?" he asked Sheila, who slowly nodded. "I see…" he continued, turning around so he could search through a bag. From there he pulled out a small notepad as well as a pen. Sheila nodded with gratitude, taking the small objects from the boy`s hands. This one time she had to thank Luke for teaching her the human language as well as how to write it down. Just in case! She struggled for a couple of minutes before she got the hang of it and managed to transmit her message.

**Where did you find me?** Sheila scribbled on one sheet.

"I found you barely conscious and near drowning in a fountain. You were lucky my pansage noticed you and caught my attention." He said, pointing to his grass-typed partner. "How disrespectful of me to forget this! My name is Cilan." He continued, bowing in front of her. "I`m one of the triplet gym leaders of Striaton City. I don`t want to sound pushy, but could you tell me yours?"

Sheila was deeply impressed by the manners of this human.

"_Why can`t Luke be the same way…_" She sighed to herself before grabbing the notepad.

**Sheila** She wrote down.

"It`s my pleasure to meet you!" Cilan said, shaking Sheila`s arm. "But just what brought you into this predicament?"

**I** **got attacked all of a sudden** Sheila lied. She felt as if telling him the truth would put him in harm`s way **By any chance, have you seen a White stone?**

"Oh, this little one?" Cilan said, showing Sheila the still unharmed stone.

**Thank you! This is a very important item for me!** Sheila responded in writing.

"I`m glad I could help." Cilan replied, heading for the door. "I hope it doesn`t bother you but I have to leave for a minute or so. You can interact with my Pokémon if you want."

And with this he left, closing the door behind him. Sheila hastily got up from bed and stuck her ear to the door, listening for the faint sound of the sommelier`s footsteps. Once she was sure he was out of hearing range she turned to his two Pokémon, a Pansage and a Dwebble. She clutched the Light Stone even tighter, realizing the mess she was in…she had to find a hiding place and a good one, before those weirdly dressed freaks could get a hold of her. And then, a stroke of genius! But for this she needed the help of two certain Pokémon.

"_Hey…_" Sheila decide to break the ice.

_"You can talk our language? But how?_" Pansage questioned.

_"You see…the truth is that, in reality, I`m not actually a human but a Pokémon, just like the two of you. A mienshao, to be more precise."_ Sheila explained.

Both Pansage and Dwebble gasped, not believing their ears but, before they could ask, Sheila gestured towards the collar she still had around her neck and explained:

_"The collar you see here isn`t your ordinary collar, no…it`s a special_ _invention that creates an illusion, an illusion that transforms its wearer into a human. Brilliant I could say!" "True!"_ Pansage said, nodding.

_"But now…."_ Sheila continued. _"I hope I`m not a burden but I really wonder if you could do me a small, small favor?"_

_"Why not?"_ Dwebble said, looking at his partner for confirmation.

_"It won`t bother us at all. Spill it out!"_ Pansage continued.

_"I`m deeply grateful!"_ Sheila said before leaning towards the two Pokémon, whispering something to them.

They both smiled and nodded. _"No problem dear!" _They said in unison.

_"Thanks! You just can`t imagine how much this means me!"_ Sheila happily replied, clapping her hands.

Then Sheila heard footprints getting closer and soon the door knob turned. She barely had enough time to throw herself in the bed and pull the blanket up to her neck before Cilan reentered the room, carrying a couple of bags full with medicinal herbs and potions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**At the same time...**_

Team Plasma found out Sheila`s location and were planning their assault. The previous operation was an utter failure, only resulting in the loss of four grunts at the paws of that lucario and his trainer. But now the odds were against the unfortunate mienshao…and the plasma leader knew it all too well. He clutched bisharp`s Pokéball until his knuckles turned white, before turning to a nearby grunt and barking:

"We have to get to the Light Stone before those damn trainers get a chance to. We have no time to waste! We`ll attack tonight! Prepare the distraction!"

"Yes sir!" she politely replied before retreating.

The plasma grunt rubbed his hands together and smirked at the prospective of an easy mission. Oh, he could see that big promotion he had been hoping for ever since he had joined Team Plasma`s ranks coming his way. His maniacal laughter reverberated throughout the whole forrest…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun has long disappeared, the moon now reigning over the cloudless sky. Shadow now occupied the land, shadows that hid the impending doom. The breathtaking scenery soon turned to hell as trees ignited and collapsed, smoke suffocated every living being in the vicinity. Pokémon cries echoed through the night…cries of agony and dismay… Cilan jumped out of his bed and ran outside as fast as his legs could carry him, only to be ambushed and restrained by the awaiting grunts… The wounded and groggy Sheila wasn`t much resistance either, she was a sitting ducklett for a dozen or so grunts and their Pokémon.

But, to their sheer shock, they could find any trace of the legendary artifact, no matter how much they searched.

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS IT!" He yelled towards the sky, grabbing a fist-full of his hair and pulling hard.

"Sir, the Light Stone isn`t in the possession of the male either." A grunt reported.

"Damn it!" the leader cursed. "This bitch hid it!" He continued, kicking Sheila`s unconscious body. "But I have a plan…there`s no way I`m letting that promotion slip through my fingers again!"

And with this he grinned wickedly and the laughter of the deranged madman filled the air once more…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**Luke`s POV**_

My blood was boiling by now…how dare they…those bastards… I`ve rarely been so mad before…only for my trainer, Emily…but now…_her_…she`s making my mind go crazy… This was something I couldn`t comprehend, I couldn`t decipher such powerful feelings. But I was sure of one sole thing: I had to rescue Sheila, not the Light Stone but Sheila! It felt as if ages had passed since we had parted… But then, my aura senses were alerted to the presence of humans nearby…_them_… I could feel pure hatred rising from deep within my heart. I let out a sharp cry as I turned towards the source of the said aura.

_"WHERE IS SHE?"_ I telepathically shouted.

"No need to get all fired up, dear." A voice responded from the shadows. "We have her right her!" At that exact moment, the ground began to shake violently, dust rose as trees were being pulled from their roots, obscuring the oncoming figure.

Soon a large mecha revealed itself, followed by a least a dozen grunts and their leader…_that bastard_… As it closer, its capsule opened, a long pipe rose from the space created. There, hanging from the twisted rope was…_she_…at that moment my heart sank…I held my breath…it seemed as…time itself had stopped…For a moment I thought she was…was…but, to my sheer relief, her eyelids twitched and soon her eyes opened…

_**Sheila`s POV**_

That feeling again…the confusion and dull pain…and the voices I could not distinguish…the bright light that hit me when I tried to open my eyes…so bright I had to close them as soon as they were opened…voice, voices I couldn`t comprehend either but still…there was a particular one that stood out from the rest as it became clearer and clearer until I could decipher some of the syllables…and they were brought together in one sentence…

_"Sheila!__** Sheila!**__ SHEILA!" _ _"LUKE!"_ I yelled, suddenly recognizing the voice. I opened my eyes wide and saw him… He looked panicked, tense…scared…I had never seen him like this…even in the harshest of battles he kept his cool…this made me panic as well. Then I started to asses my surroundings. My hands were stuck above my head, held by a soft set of hands…hands? No, they weren`t hands, but something else… I looked up to see a cord binding my wrists together…the cord from _my _coat…that little son of a…his nerve! Oh, how much I wanted to punch him in the jaw so as to leave a mark he`ll never forget but… I have no strength left in my battered and bruised body…my limbs dangle helplessly, my wounds hurt as blood oozes from them…taking away my will with it…

"Let`s make a deal…"The leader said, pointing his finger at Luke.

"You tell me where the Light Stone is and she gets away with her life…"He continued, pointing at me this time. "Unless you want your next meeting to be in the other world, of course!" His laughter made my ears bleed…

He then touched his trusted bisharp on the shoulder, and the Pokémon soon complied to the silent order, putting one blade at my neck and the other one at the base of the cord, making a small, almost unnoticeable, cut across its surface. I could see Luke`s eyes widen in fear. And then it hit me, Luke had no idea where the Light Stone was. It had been with me the whole time and only I knew where it was hidden… I am in deep, deep shit…!

"So…giving up?"The leader taunted.

_"I…I…"_ Luke tried to say, only to find his throat unbearably dry. He stepped back and swallowed a lump of saliva before answering: _"GO. TO. HELL.!"_

"So this is the game you want to play, huh?" The visibly irritated villain responded. He turned to his bisharp and hissed an order:

"Bisharp! Do it!" The part steel obeyed without hesitation, it`s blade colliding with the beam, effectively bringing it down.

Unfortunately for me, it seems we were at the edge of an apparently bottom-less pit. Joy…"_How the bloody hell haven`t I noticed this before?"_ I yelled to myself as my body helplessly dangled mere inches away from safety. And since a disaster never comes alone, a ripping sound soon flooded my years…I looked up in dismay to see the damn cord, the only thing separating me from a hideous death, was beginning to slowly tare itself apart.

_"LUKE!"_ I desperately yelled as one more fiber broke. Luke`s body was frozen and then, suddenly, he relaxed. His crimson eyes met my own as tears were beginning to cloud my vision.

"_DO SOMETHING! DON`T JUST STAND THERE!"_ I yelled from the bottom of my lungs.

_"No need to worry…"_ He whispered, loud enough only for me to hear. _"Everything will sort itself out, you`ll see. You just need to trust me blindly this time."_

I screamed as the cord tore itself apart even more. I kicked my legs and thrashed my body madly in the air, to no avail…I was only going making the situation worse…I just can`t help it, I`m scared to death and I`m scared of death…but I can`t give up like this, throw my life away, even if there is no visible way out there has to be one… or am I only prolonging the inevitable? Is this really destiny, a destiny you can`t escape from? Am I at the mercy of a cord? Am I…_**hanging by a thread**_…? I helplessly looked up to see the last threads holding me alive, one after another, they were tearing apart until only a single bundle was left… I closed my eyes, admitting my defeat, my helplessness, my demise… And then…the moment I feared…the cord gave in… I swear that, for second, I was literary floating in mid-air before I began to fall…an endless fall toward an end I strived to avoid…why does fate have to be so evil? Oh, the clichés!... I could see my life flashing before my very eyes…it is now that I realize my mistakes, mistakes I wouldn`t have a chance to correct, events I can not change anymore… And then… my thoughts ran to a certain Pokémon, a Pokémon I let down…big way…

_"Luke…"_ I whispered, only for myself. _"Sorry… I was useless…I couldn`t do a thing the right way…I failed to protect the Light Stone…"_

Suddenly, I could hear someone quietly laughing… _"No need to worry…you can tell me this in person!"_ the voice said in.

_"Luke!"_ I yelled at the top of my lungs, before I could feel someone breaking my fall. I snap my eyes open…to stare into the crimson ones of a still human looking Luke.

_"Luke…"_ I whispered my voice hoarse from screaming. _"How…? It`s impossible…" "_

_See… told ya there`s no need to worry._ _But I`m not the only one you should thank, there is also Magnet!" _he added, grinning from ear to ear. Taking into account what he just said, I looked down to see Emily`s magnezone, releasing sparks of electricity in his happy state.

_"You can let my down now, you know? My legs are still in one piece!" _I told Luke, getting fed up of being held.

_"Yes, yes…" _He grouchily replied as he let me down, cutting the remainder of the cord in the process.

_"You enjoyed this, didn`t you?" _

_"Caught me red-handed!"_ Luke laughed. _"Now…" _he paused for a second. _"How about giving that rotten piece of scum the surprise of a lifetime?" _

_"You bet!"_

We quickly started to ascent, until we were right behind the leader, who was obviously too busy laughing and proclaiming his victory to notice us.

"Lord N, I did it! I finally got rid of the pest! I…"

_"Oh, you sure?"_ I taunted him. I smirked as I saw the facial expression he had as he turned around.

We jumped off Magnet just in time for him to block an incoming attack from the bisharp. Without his partner, he was helpless. Furthermore, his purrloin ditched him, probably not wanting to battle two pissed off fighting types.

_"You`re all mine now!"_I telepathically hissed at the trembling human in front of me.

_" Revenge time!" _I looked at Luke and he looked back at me, nodding at me.

We both knew all too well the significance of this gesture. I brought my hands together and placed them above Luke`s own, forming an oval-shaped space in between. Despite our severely weakened human-like forms, we managed to gather enough energy to form an Aura Sphere of considerable size and power. I then decided to snatch it from Luke`s hands.

_"What the…"_ he started to protest.

_"Trust me for a change! And besides, the bastard is mine! Mine and only mine!"_ I explained.

For the second time in five minutes I smirked as I heard the bastard`s final and desperate pleas. I let loose a mad laughter of my own as I lunged for him, slamming the sphere in his chest. He was instantly launched in the air, spinning and tumbling, before his back slammed into a large rock, shattering it and burying himself under the debris. His steel-typed partner soon joined him, thrown away by a not-so-amused Magnet. Seeing their leader`s shattering defeat, the grunts fled in fear, only to be apprehended by the police.

_"The police?"_ I mumbled to myself as I scanned the gathering crowd for a familiar face. And there he was… _"Cilan! He`s okay, thank Arceus!"_

Ignoring the cries of the crowd I ran to his side. He was obviously shocked to see me again but also relived that I had escaped from the whole ordeal relatively unharmed. Dwebble gave me the equivalent of a smile before letting me remove its shell, revealing the unharmed Light Stone.

"Cilan!" A purple-haired girl appeared from behind him.

"Who`s she?" She asked him.

"I have no idea…" He replied, shaking his head.

_"I owe you one!"_ I told a dumbstruck Cilan as I left.

The face he made was simply priceless! I returned to the group, proudly holding the artifact by the side of my face until I handed it to Emily. But, of course, my moment of pride and glory had to be interrupted.

"Stop in the name of the law!" The distinct voice of Officer Jenny could be heard. "Drop the Light Stone and turn around with your hands in the air!"

"Yeah sure!" Emily mocked as she released Drifter, one of our main means of transport.

As we all boarded him, she ordered the Blimp Pokémon to use Ominous Wind, thus immobilizing the law enforcement authorities present. We then made our quick getaway, idly drifting on the warm currents of early summer…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**Epilogue**_

**Later that afternoon…**

The rays of the twilight sun flowed through the opened windows and landed on a pure white, spherical object…until a pair of hands carefully lifted it to take a better look at the artifact.

"So… the mission was a success…" Lynn finally said, putting the orb in a protective case. "We`ll start the in-depth analysis tomorrow morning. After all this may be our only key to the two legendary dragons, you know."

"I thought about it." Emily replied, taking a sip from her cup. "But you know what gets me worried?"

"Spill it!" Lynn insisted.

"Do you recall that mysterious Pokémon we met when we first arrived here? The one that go Thunder and Magnet so agitated. I sen…" Emily began to explain.

"Pokémon? What Pokémon? All I could see was a raging thunderstorm!" Lynn interrupted.

Emily sighed before giving her argument. "My aura senses never let me down, had they? Now let me finish what I have to say."

"Oh, sorry…Continue…" Lynn said, curiosity taking the better of her.

"Any way, where were we?" Emily rubbed the back of her head in confusion.

"You know…our mysterious storm-loving Pokémon…Familiar?" Lynn laughed at her friend`s short memory.

"Oh yeah! It seems that the aura the Light Orb emits is an almost perfect match with the one of the aforementioned being. And, taking into consideration the legends and the fact that the orb is said to have once belonged to Reshiram, we are left with only one possibility…one theory…"

"Wait a minute! You don`t thing that…it`s impossible!"

"No Lynn, I don`t think that the Pokémon from back then was _that_ one." Emily paused to sip the last of her drink. "I`m _sure_ about it! There is no doubt."

She then got up and started to walk towards the door.

"And so…you know what to do…" She continued, gripping the door`s handle.

Lynn nodded and watched her partner close the door, leaving her alone with the orb…and her thoughts…

"Oh Arceus! Wish us luck! We`re gonna need a lot of it…sooner than we had ever thought…" And with this Lynn left the gloomy room as well, taking their prized Light Orb with her…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**Meanwhile…**_

Luke stared out through the window…watching the wild Pokémon get ready for sleep… it wasn`t his fault after all, this was his hobby…his passion…getting a glimpse in someone else`s life…it truly entertained him… "But enough is enough" he decided, as he pulled the curtains over the window, letting the room plunge into darkness…

_"Hey…What did you do that for?"_ an annoyed voice yelled from behind him.

_"You need rest after all…"_ He taunted, as his vision got clear enough for him to distinguish Sheila`s silhouette buried in the bed sheets.

_"Rest…yeah sure! Don`t you have any new ways of taunting me? You`re starting to lose your originality, you know…"_ She replied.

_"I mean it!"_ Luke insisted as he grabbed the handle so he could open the door.

_"Wait!"_ Sheila whispered, causing Luke to halt. She slowly dragged herself out of the sheets and across the room.

_"Hey!"_ Luke said as the female mienshao stopped in front of him.

_"Got a surprise for you…Close your eyes for me…"_ She ordered, an order Luke soon followed.

Sheila leaned in towards her partner and, with the greatest of ease, gave the unsuspecting lucario a quick yet meaningful kiss on his cheek. She then rested her forehead against Luke`s. Her soft fur against his own, her paw on top of his…Luke could swear his heart skipped a beat. But the reverie didn`t last forever as, after only a moment, Sheila pulled away.

_"You fascinate me to no avail…"_ Luke told himself as he left, a smile slowly creeping on his muzzle as he massaged the place where she had kissed him…


End file.
